My novels are available HERE
Published 2024
If only a poison pen letter problem was all that the hardy residents of Craggan Dhu had to contend with. Forced to weather Covid, as well as the menacing presence of someone who wishes them harm, proves a challenge for this resilient Southland town. As the pandemic fades, the locals want to move on with their lives. In order to do so, it becomes necessary to find out once and for all the identity of the person who has been posting nasty, anonymous letters.
Newly-widowed Clarrie Fitzgerald, a recent arrival back in New Zealand after living in Ireland for many years, is hoping to find the peace of mind she is desperate for after narrowly escaping a stalker episode. After she forms a book club, she quickly strikes up a friendship with Kon Maizer, another new arrival to the town.
Kon is not sure what to do after he uncovers vital information that could lead to the solution of a cold case that has long puzzled the locals. This could also prove to be the solution to Harris Goodall’s problem with ghosts. Meanwhile, for local Helena McGregor, despite betrayal and heartbreak, romance still beckons
While attending the 2019 interment of mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Alison McGregor in the wind-blasted, southern coastal town of Craggan Dhu (Craggie), present-day tensions, along with revelations informed by the past, wend back and forth – from mid-19th century Scotland, India and Tasmania, Australia, to 20th-century New Zealand, when young Gordie McGregor lands in the deep south of the South Island. Gordie meets and marries local Craggie resident, Gladys Hogan. When their son, Sandy McGregor, marries fellow Craggie resident, Alison Wilde, a mixed-race element is introduced into this family saga. Three generations later, in the 21st century, underlying tensions are finally confronted when the McGregor grandchildren and great grandchildren, seek accountability, as well as the chance for love and new beginnings.
The peace that cousins Niz and Lia McGregor had hoped to find by each coming back to live in their old home town, could well be compromised with the arrival of young Dallisse, Niz’s granddaughter, for an extended stay. Ex-resident Finnbarr Reilly’s visit after decades of living in Auckland, farther unsettles the cousins.Both historical and present-day characters with links to this coastal Western Southland town of Craggan Dhu (Craggie,) struggle to come to grips with repercussions from their own spontaneous actions and held secrets. Through a host of voices from the past, the formerly hidden burbles from history’s underground stream are slowly revealed, forcing the past and the present to culminate in surprising revelations and awakenings.
11th Letter In 